


"You Messed With the Wrong Kid"

by baloobird



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Peter Parker, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 07:32:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18090068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baloobird/pseuds/baloobird
Summary: Peter's teacher doesn't like his dad, Tony Stark, so she doesn't like him by extension.When Tony finds out how she's mistreating Peter, well...he lets her know that she messed with the wrong kid.





	"You Messed With the Wrong Kid"

**Author's Note:**

> This idea got in my head so I just went, "Why not?" and wrote it XD. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!!

Peter knows why his teacher doesn't like him.

He doesn't know _why_ , but he knows it's because she doesn't like his dad for some reason.

How could anyone not like his dad? He's _Tony Stark_. He helps people and flies around in his super cool suit.

The teacher must have no taste in people, he thinks.

But that's no excuse to not like his kid, right?

It's so obvious that she’s bitter towards Peter, from the way that she never calls on him in class, to the way that she makes him feel stupid when he gets something wrong, or the way that she'll make snide comments about his dad in front of him. But it's fine, he just does his work and deals with it. It's whatever. At least he still has Ned.

One day after lunch, Peter finds himself squirming in his seat while doing his work. He already asked his teacher once if he can use the bathroom, but she said to just wait and go at afternoon recess.

But that was thirty minutes ago.

Since then, his need has increased tenfold. He wants to ask again, but he’s scared of getting rejected for a second time.

Ultimately, the nine-year-old decides to try again after his body reminds him once more. He works up the courage and walks over to the teacher's desk.

The teacher glances up from her work and then looks back down once she sees who it is, "What is it, Peter?"

Peter composes himself as best as he can with minimal squirming, "Um...m-may I use the restroom?"

"I already said 'no' the first time, what makes you think I'll say 'yes'?"

The kid shyly crosses his arms, "Um...." He then whispers, "It's an emergency."

The teacher is still looking down grading papers, "Why didn't you go at lunch?"

"I-I did."

"Then it shouldn't be an emergency."

 _Huh_?! She always lets kids go if it's an emergency!

Peter is starting to freak out a little at this point, "But I drank a whole milk carton -"

"Sit down, Peter. You can wait until break."

Peter's eyes bug out at his teacher. She's _still_ making him wait?! He shakily walks back to his desk.

His knees start bouncing when he sits back down. He subtly glances around the room, irrationally wishing that a toilet will magically appear in the classroom.

He squeezes his legs together as tight as he can. He can do this, it won't be long until recess anyway, right? She wouldn't not make him go if it wasn't soon, right? She can't be _that_ heartless...right?

Peter just sits in his desk as still as possible and tries to focus on his work.

-

After about ten more minutes of pure agony, Peter doesn't make it.

He feels the strange warmth run down his thighs and legs. His mortification only grows as he watches his blue jeans slowly darken.

He is frozen in fear. He glances around at the other kids and he calms down a little when it seems that no one else has noticed.

But what does he do now?

Maybe it will dry up soon, he thinks. He'll just sit as still as possible and wait for his jeans to dry. Everything will be _juuuuust fine_.

About twenty seconds after he thinks this, the kid sitting next to him yells out, "EWWWW-uh, Peter peed himself!"

Peter's eyes widen in absolute terror.

_Oh no...oh no, oh no, oh no...._

Everyone turns to him in what feels like one swoop. He can feel all fifteen sets of eyes bore into him like lasers.

He hears snickers and they gradually get louder and turn into bouts of laughter. He covers his eyes and he doesn't even care that he's smudging his glasses. Is there a rock nearby that he can crawl under?

The kid next to him continues the jeering, “Do you need a diaper, _Pee'er Stank_?”

The laughter increases. Peter can hear Ned yell from across the room, “Shut up, Flash!”

It's then that the teacher addresses the situation, “Ned, we will _not_ have that kind of language in this classroom! Timeout next recess.”

Peter moves his hands from his face and gives Ned an apologetic look, but Ned only responds with a look of worry for his friend.

The teacher then turns to Peter and he flinches at the scowling look she's giving him. She's not seriously mad at him, is she?

“Peter, go to the office, right now.”

The curly-haired kid hesitates for a few seconds before getting out of his seat. His cheeks flush at the thought of everyone seeing him with now wet pants. 

And boy, did he pick the wrong day to not bring a jacket.

Flash whispers to Peter before he gets out of earshot, “Have fun, _Pee'er Stank.”_

And he's getting a new, “fun” nickname on top of all of this.

 _Lovely_.

Peter does his best to ignore the points and snickers. As he's getting up, he hears Ned ask their teacher, “Can I go with him?”

“No, you need to sit down and do your work.”

After giving his friend a thankful smile, Peter books it out of the room.

Since class is still in session, he luckily doesn't run into anyone until he gets to the office. He shyly walks to the doorway and gets the front desk lady's attention. 

The receptionist looks up and he instantly crosses his arms in embarrassment. She gives him a look of sympathy, “Aw, sweetie, come on in, I'll call your dad.”

She grabs a towel from a linen closet and drapes it across one of their chairs before Peter sits down. Once he does, he uses the ends of the towel to cover his front. 

She turns to him before she grabs the phone, “It's just an accident, sweetie, there's nothing to be embarrassed about.”

The child just solemnly nods.

He hears her call his dad and tell him the situation. She hangs up after a few minutes and turns back to him, “He'll be here soon, just sit tight, okay?”

Peter nods again and looks down at his hands in his lap. What will his dad think? Will he be upset? Or mad? He couldn't be any more mad than Peter is at himself. He's a big kid now, big kids don't do stuff like this. Maybe he _is_ still a baby.

No! No, he's not a baby, it wasn’t his fault! He asked the teacher, _twice_ , even. It's not like he just can't control his bladder.

Peter is still wallowing in self-doubt when he feels a comforting hand rubbing his curls.

The kid looks up and immediately relaxes in his dad's presence. Tony puts down a grocery bag filled with what Peter assumes are clean clothes and kneels down in front of him.

The hero gives his son a gentle smile and soothingly rubs his hand on one of Peter's upper arms, “How you doing, buddy?”

Peter gives a faint smile and shrugs, “I've been better.”

Tony sympathizes, “Why don't we get you changed and let's get outta here, huh?”

“But I still have school -”

“There's not even a couple hours left before the day's out. C'mon, let's go get ice cream or something.”

Peter's smile gets bigger, “Y'know, people could argue that you're a bad influence on me.” He can hear the nice lady try to stifle a laugh in the background.

Tony playfully scoffs, “Well, if you _want_ to stay, then that's fine too. Would you rather stay here or hang out with your old man?”

Peter giggles, “I'd _much_ rather hang out with you.”

“Alright, let's go.” Tony turns to the receptionist, “Is there a bathroom nearby? I don't want to walk him all the way back to the student ones.”

“Of course, you can use the one that's across the hall.”

“Thanks.”

Peter stands up and the lady takes back the now dirty towel. Tony picks up the bag and they walk into the bathroom. Peter is cleaned up and changed in no time. 

Peter sees his dad putting his dirty clothes in the bag and his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He shyly stares at the floor, “I'm sorry -”

“Hey, hey.” Tony kneels down until he's at eye-level with his kid. He grabs hold of Peter's upper arm to comfort him, and then lifts the kid's chin with his other hand, making him look up, “It was just an accident, I'm not mad. Things like this happen sometimes.”

“But everyone's gonna make fun of me now.” His gaze goes back to the floor.

Tony lifts Peter's chin again, “Let them, okay? _Let them_. Just ignore them and it'll all blow over in no time.”

Peter murmurs to himself, “You don't know Flash.”

“What was that?”

“Um...uh, I think I might get that ‘Brownie Bash’ flavor, or whatever it's called.”

“‘Brownie Batter’?”

“Yeah!”

“Well then, _that_ is what you're gonna get.” Tony then playfully pokes his son's nose, which leads to heart-melting giggles.

They walk out of the bathroom. Tony signs Peter out while the kid rushes to the classroom to get his things. He lets out a relieved breath at seeing the room empty - the recess that Peter was _oh so_ anticipating must've finally came.

He gets his things and rushes back to the office. After saying “bye” to the nice front desk lady, they get in the car.

-

Tony can't help but notice that something is off with his son.

They're sitting in a booth across from each other. Peter is holding his cone and has ice cream all over his mouth. The man is resisting the urge to get his phone out and take a million pictures.

Peter seems to be enjoying it, of course, but he's been quiet.

 _Too_ quiet.

He's normally such a “Chatty Cathy” after school that Tony himself can't get a word in edgewise.

Is he still embarrassed over what happened?

Tony wants to reassure him that there is nothing wrong, but he also doesn’t want his kid to get worked up again by mentioning it.

Tony hums to himself before licking more of his own ice cream cone. He can’t help but snort at Peter’s attempts to lick his ice cream before it inevitably drips between his fingers. 

“Kiddie, you look like you just got out of a mud bath.”

Peter looks up in confusion, “People take baths in the mud?”

“Yup. Apparently, it’s supposed to relax you.”

Peter is even more confused, “But that’s so _gross_.”

“Hey, you don’t gotta tell me twice.”

Peter giggles along with his dad, “Do these people feel sticky when they get out of the bath?”

Tony raises an eyebrow, “No, I don’t think so anyway, why?”

The child holds up a chocolate-covered hand to show Tony, “‘Cuz my whole body feels really sticky.”

They both start laughing at that, “Don’t worry, squirt, I’ll get you cleaned up when you’re done.”

Peter nods in understanding before he starts eating the actual cone. 

Tony decides to not ask any more questions about today. If something’s bothering the kid, the billionaire trusts him enough to come talk to him.

But all bets are off if he’s still like this at bedtime.

-

Peter is still like this at bedtime.

Tony tucks him into bed and asks him, “Is everything alright, buddy? You’re not still embarrassed about what happened today, are you?”

Peter just shakes his head as he’s taking off his glasses. He then buries his head into the pillow face-down.

Tony hums in concern and ruffles his son’s hair, “Alright then, you know that I’m here if you need me, don’t you?”

Peter’s head nods a “yes” against the pillow.

They say their “goodnights” and “love yous” before Tony turns off the light and leaves the room. He makes sure that the bedroom door is cracked - Peter doesn’t like sleeping with the door closed - and goes to the lab to tinker.

A couple of hours later, Tony is sitting in bed with his StarkPad when he hears a soft knock at the door.

The door opens before Tony can respond. He sees Peter tentatively poke his curly head into the room.

Tony talks first, “Everything okay, Pete?” Peter hesitates at the door and Tony continues, “You can come in, it’s okay.”

Peter comes in and he sits on the bed right next to his dad.

Tony notices how quiet his son is being, “Didya have a bad dream or something, kiddo?”

Peter shakes his head and leans into Tony’s side, “Just couldn’t sleep.”

The older man hums in concern, “Any idea what’s got you worked up?”

The child lets out a deep breath before he starts, “I don’t think my teacher likes me.”

Tony raises an eyebrow; this is a weird conversation to start this late at night. He puts down the StarkPad and wraps his arm around his kid, “Why do you think that?”

The child lays his head on his hero's chest and his gaze locks on the glowing arc reactor, “She...she doesn’t like you.”

“So?”

“So, she doesn’t like _me_ , Dad. It’s like a rule or something.”

The mechanic holds back a snort at the ridiculousness, “What does she do that makes you think she doesn’t like you?”

“Um...when I raise my hand in class, she never calls on me to answer the questions. And uh, she’s more strict with me than the other kids.”

“Mm-hm...how so?”

“Well...I asked a kid for a pencil - mine broke - and I got a timeout at recess for talking in class. All the kids do that and she never gives _them_ a timeout. And if I get a question wrong, she just tells me that I’m stupid, but if another kid gets it wrong, she helps them get it right.”

Tony’s eyes bug out. Maybe this isn’t as ridiculous as he thought, “She called you _stupid_?”

Peter nods his head ever so slightly. Tony is already thinking about giving her a piece of his mind tomorrow, with _no_ filter.

The kid has stopped talking but Tony can tell that there’s more. He nudges his kid to get his attention, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Peter can feel his cheeks heat up again, “Uh...um...she-she didn’t let me use the bathroom when I really, _really_ had to go.”

Tony puts the pieces together and is immediately upset. He pulls Peter away from the embrace but doesn’t let go of him. The billionaire looks directly at his kid and composes himself so that he doesn’t look as upset as he feels, “What do you mean ‘she didn’t let you go’? Was that what happened today?”

Peter nods.

_So this is why he’s been so damn quiet._

The kid confesses, “I asked her twice. The first time, I didn’t have to go that bad, and she said that I can wait until recess. But the second time I _really_ had to go and she said the same thing. I even told her it was an emergency; she _always_ lets kids go if they say it’s an emergency. I tried to hold it, Dad, I promise I tried, but...but I couldn’t….” 

Tony looks at him in sympathy. Why didn’t Peter say any of this sooner?

As if reading his dad’s mind, Peter answers, “And I didn’t wanna tell you because I didn’t want you to think that I was still a baby and that I can just deal with stuff like a big kid...but I also don’t want you to think I’m still a baby who still wets himself, so...yeah….” 

Peter is almost out of breath by the time he’s finished his confession. He’s afraid to see how upset his dad is at him, so he just stares at his hands in his lap.

Tony lifts his kid’s chin to make the gaze stay on him, “First of all, just because you’re a ‘big kid,’ it doesn’t mean that you can’t still come to me, okay? I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong. Second of all, _you are not stupid_. You’re the smartest kid I know, don’t let anyone else tell you differently.”

Peter rolls his eyes, “You’re just saying that ‘cuz you’re my dad -”

“No, no I’m not. I may be biased, but I know I’m right. Everyone gets questions wrong, no matter how smart they are; the smartest person in the universe got at least one question wrong in their lifetime. It’s what makes us human.”

Peter shrugs, “I guess.”

“I’m not guessing, ‘cuz I know that I got _this_ question right.” Tony pokes his kid’s nose and Peter can’t help but giggle at how ticklish it feels, “And you’re not a baby. If anyone’s telling you otherwise, then they’re _wrong_ , okay? None of what happened today was your fault, _none_ of it; your teacher shouldn’t have been mean to you like that.” Tony moves his hand to gently cup the boy’s neck, “You’re not a machine, what happened to you could’ve happened to anyone. Your teacher was in the wrong there, understand? Not you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Peter is relieved at that. He then groans, “But everyone’s still gonna call me ‘Pee’er Stank’ for the rest of time.” He then proceeds to completely smush his head against Tony’s side.

Tony pulls him back slightly, “Hey, hey, watch the glasses.” He takes off his son’s glasses and puts them on his nightstand. He feels Peter resume the smushing position against his side. “Peter, they’re not gonna call you that for the ‘rest of time.’ I told you it’s all gonna blow over.”

Peter mumbles against Tony's shirt, “But kids are mean, Dad.”

Tony clenches his jaw, “I know they are, but you gotta be the bigger person.”

The child lifts his head up and looks at his dad with a confused expression, “Um, Dad? I’m one of the shortest kids in the class.”

The older man softly chuckles, “That’s not what I meant. You gotta show them that the name doesn’t bother you. If you don’t care, then they’ll stop calling you that.”

Peter lays his head back on his dad’s chest, head facing him, and mulls it over for a few seconds before he responds, “And that works?”

“Well, it doesn’t have one hundred percent accuracy, but it’s pretty up there.”

Peter lets out a defeated sigh, “Okay….”

Tony kisses the top of his son’s head, “That’s my boy.”

Peter can’t help but smile at that and he snuggles into his dad to get a more comfortable position. He falls asleep not long after. 

Tony has one last thought before he falls asleep himself, _Boy, does this woman have a big storm coming._

-

The following afternoon, Tony knocks on the open door of the fourth grade classroom. The teacher is sitting at her desk across from the door, writing out what looks like a lesson plan. She looks up at the sound of knocking and is surprised to see Tony Stark in her doorway.

She acknowledges his presence, “Peter’s in the gym; the kids are in P.E. right now.”

Tony starts walking in, “Oh, I know, I’ll pick him up soon enough; but I want to talk to _you_ first.”

The woman’s eyebrows shoot up, “You need to schedule an appointment for a conference.”

The man resists the urge to roll his eyes, _Well, she sure is a peach._

Tony grabs a random kid’s chair and sets it right in front of the teacher’s desk before sitting in it. If this were any other situation, he’d laugh at the absurdity of sitting in a chair meant for little kids, “Okay, then I wanna schedule one for right now, how ‘bout that?”

She scowls at him and closes her lesson plan notebook, “What do you need, Mr. Stark?”

The mechanic clenches his jaw, “You humiliated my son for absolutely no reason, so I _need_ you to tell me why you didn’t let a nine-year-old use the bathroom yesterday?”

“Accidents happen. Since you have a kid, I assume you’re familiar with that.”

Tony rolls his eyes, “Yes, but this accident could’ve been easily prevented if you had just let him go.”

“I can’t just let kids go whenever they want. Some just pretend they need to go and then they skip class. I was gonna let him go at recess, I’m not a monster.”

Tony feels an oncoming headache amidst all the bullshit and grabs the bridge of his nose to try and prevent it, “Then check up on them after five minutes, for God’s sake. You do realize that they have to go more frequently than we do, right? I assume - especially being a person in your profession - that you're familiar with _that_.”

The lady lets out a deep sigh, “You made your point, I won’t do that again. Have a good day, Mr. Stark.”

The man leans back in his chair, “Oh, I am _not_ done here. Not by a long shot.”

The teacher’s eyebrows shoot up in alarm, “I am very busy, Mr. Stark -”

“But not too busy to call my kid ‘stupid,’ huh?”

The woman starts to look flustered, “I-I would never say something like that!”

Tony leans forward in his seat, “So you’re calling my son a liar?”

The teacher groans in annoyance, “No! Ugh, he misinterpreted what I said. I said that the _answer_ was stupid. There’s a difference.”

Tony feels his cheeks heat up in anger, “No, there fucking isn’t!”

The woman looks shocked at the man’s sudden vulgar language, and Tony just says, “That’s right, I cussed in your G-rated classroom, deal with it.”

The hero takes a few seconds to calm down and collect himself, “Okay, I know you don’t like me. I don’t care, I literally do not give an absolute shit if you don’t like me. But don’t take that out on my son. I’m sure you agree with me when I say that he doesn’t deserve that; he deserves to be treated just like every other student here.”

“I do treat him like all the other stu -”

“Bullshit. He’s told me everything: you alienate him, you make him feel like he’s the dumbest person in the room - news flash, he’s actually the smartest. And just yesterday, you made him wet himself in front of his classmates. Yeah, you’re truly ‘Teacher of the Year.’”

Said teacher’s only response is a scowl that seems to be stuck on her face permanently.

The mechanic continues, “So tell me, Miss, do you have tenure?”

Tony sees a strike of fear flow through the woman sitting in front of him.

 _Good_.

“Uh, no...no I don’t.”

Tony gives her a satisfactory grin, “ _Really_ now? Hm, it would be _such_ a shame for you to lose your job now, huh?”

“Don’t bullshit me, Stark. Unlike you, I actually _need_ a job to pay the bills and make a living. You’re actually gonna meddle with my livelihood?”

Tony snorts at the woman’s own vulgar language, “Ooh, someone’s getting snarky. Okay, cry me a river, you care so much about your ‘livelihood’ that you call your kids names that will stick with them forever? Yeah, you sound _so_ passionate.”

“Mr. Stark, please -”

Tony is so done at this point, “Can it, oh my God, just can it. It’s not even up to me to decide, but I will be voicing my concerns to the principal and the school board, so have fun with that.” Tony gives her victorious smirk.

The teacher was about to make another defensive comment but then the students start walking back into the classroom from P.E.

As he’s getting up, Tony whispers to her, “You messed with the wrong kid.”

Peter is one of the first to walk back into the classroom and is instantly excited about seeing his father in the room, “Dad!”

The boy runs up to Tony and wraps his arms around his torso in a hug.

Tony hugs him back, “Hey, squirt, ready to go?”

Peter looks up at him with a confused expression, “Go, where are we going? School’s not over yet.”

Peter then notices that his teacher is sitting in her desk right in front of them and immediately freezes.

Tony notices how much his kid tensed at seeing his teacher and clenches his jaw to keep his anger in check, “I know, I know, but I’m already here. You don’t wanna make this a wasted trip for me, do you? And it’s Friday, let’s have some fun, huh?”

That seemed to loosen Peter right up and he excitedly gets his stuff together.

After giving one last look of “That’s right, I won” to the woman in charge, Tony leaves the classroom behind Peter.

Kids are still gradually entering the room as they are leaving - they all must have stopped at the water fountain. The father-son duo are walking past them when he hears one kid say to Peter, “Where do you think you’re going, _Pee’er Stank_?"

Peter almost stops in his tracks, but thinks better of it and just rolls his eyes. Tony feels pride swell in his chest at that.

Tony is the one who stops in his tracks instead, “Peter, hold up a second.”

Peter turns around and stares in confusion.

Tony stops the one snot-nosed kid and kneels down until he’s almost at eye-level, “What’s your name, kid?”

The kid lifts his head right up in smugness, “Flash.”

Tony raises an eyebrow, “Seriously? _That’s_ your name? And you’re _proud_ of that?”

Flash’s face falls, “No, but I like it better than my actual name.”

The hero rolls his eyes, “Whatever, I don’t care. Do you know who I am?”

Flash looks confused, like this is a trick question, “Ugh, Iron Man, _duh_.”

“Uh-huh, so you know who my son is, right?”

Flash’s eyes bug out in alarm at what he just realized, “P-Peter, Peter….”

Tony gives the punk a satisfactory grin, similar to the one he gave the teacher not long ago, “And what did you just call my son?”

“Uh-Uh-Uh...nothing, uh nothing, sir.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” The older man leans in closer to the kid, making said kid back against the wall, “And you’re not gonna call him anything else.” His grin is replaced with a serious tone, “Are you?”

Flash shakes his head frantically.

Tony’s grin comes back, “Good, ‘cuz I would hate to get the Iron Man suit out for all of this. And keep this in mind: I’m also tight with the principal and _everyone_ else in charge of this school.”

The bully’s eyes look like they could pop out of his head.

Tony stands up and goes to his son, who is looking similarly bug-eyed. He hears frantic footsteps fading behind him, “Ready to go?”

Peter nods his head and looks starstruck, “That was so cool!”

Tony takes the child’s backpack and wraps it around his shoulder. He fondly ruffles his son's curls before walking them to the front office.

Peter continues, “But you didn’t have to do that. What about the whole ‘waiting for it to blow over’ thing?”

“I’m sure it would have, but I wanted to...speed up the process a bit. That okay?”

Peter’s smile grows bigger, “ _More_ than okay! Thanks, Dad.”

“Anytime, kiddo.”

Tony signs Peter out and as they’re walking to the car, Tony says one last thing, “Oh, and as for your teacher...she won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Peter’s eyes bug out even wider, “This is the best day _ever_! But, how’d you do that?”

“A superhero doesn’t give away his secrets, squirt.”

The kid rolls his eyes, “ _Daaaaaad…_.”

“ _Peeeeeter…_.”

They’re still laughing as they’re getting in the car. Right before Tony starts it, he feels two hands wrap around his torso again.

Peter shyly says, “You’re the best, Dad.”

Tony leans over the middle compartment to hug his son and kiss the top of his head, “ _You’re_ the one who’s actually the best.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm also on Tumblr @baloobird


End file.
